Here I Should Stay
by MeredithBrody
Summary: After her interrogation about the events on the Moultrie, Brody and Pride talk about the aftermath of Meredith's decision. (Ep-tag for 1x14. Contains gigantic spoilers.)(Slight implications of Brody/Pride so far)
1. Chapter 1

**OK, come on it was a Brody episode. Of **_**course**_** you were going to get a post-ep out of me tonight. As always, hints of **_**something**_** Prody, but it's mostly a friendship fic. This episode was phenomenal, and Zoe took it right over the try line. Such a brilliant episode. Now I'm going to go back to wallowing in my Brody feels. Also, if you have Tumblr come find me and talk NOLA. agentmerribrody is my URL. OBVIOUSLY this whole fic contains spoilers for 1x14.  
Shin xx**

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Merri had been right, it had definitely been an interrogation, and she'd therefore felt a lot more at home down in her domain. She'd been hired as an interrogation expert, she still was. When being questioned about her own conduct, she felt more like she was on home turf there than in the conference room or anywhere else in their rather unorthodox headquarters. As she walked back into the bullpen, she was somehow completely unsurprised to see Pride sitting there waiting, despite how late it now was. "You're out." Was the only thing he said, looking up and smiling at her widely.

"I am." She shrugged, there wasn't all that much else for her to say. She could discuss it with him if she needed. He was the agent in charge, and therefore her wellbeing came under his duties. The thing was, Merri didn't talk about most of this if she didn't have to. Though obviously Pride had something he wanted to say.

"I wasn't sure you were going to say anything about your sister." How the hell did he know she'd spoken about that? Because he'd been there to check on her. That was a stupid question, even just internally. He had kept an eye on her since her first day, and she was happy about that generally. Of course he'd already known her circumstances because they were in her file, but she hadn't spoken about them herself before. She hadn't known she would then, but between Pride and Loretta she'd known it was time. She'd never before said it had been anything to do with what happened on the _Moultrie_. That must have been news, even to him.

"Neither was I, but you reminded me why I should." She slipped behind her desk, for some reason she had no desire to go home. She just wanted to stay here for now, reminding herself of what she was needing and why this place made her feel better. Not least because of the man sat across from her.

"I'm glad." He grinned widely then stood up, walking over to put a file on her desk. It only took a second for her to see what it was and what he was going to say. She'd already taken the first step, and Pride certainly wasn't going to let her take steps backward now. "Now you just need to put this behind you."

"I'll try. What was it you said? '_Best you just face it head on_'. You were right." She smirked slightly, but that had been a really odd moment for the two of them. That was when she knew he understood her situation, and possibly had an idea that it was more than just an error that had caused her last mistake. He couldn't know for sure, not until he'd heard her say it, but he'd obviously known something.

"That's good." His laughter was infectious, and she found herself chuckling along with him. Maybe she needed to start quoting himself back at him more often if this was the reaction. She really did like hearing him laugh too, it was so opposite most of what they did at work. "Always take my wise words on board." He continued, puffing his chest out a little proudly.

She couldn't help but laugh at that, because he'd given her a lot of advice before and it had always worked out well. He even accepted her teasing his confidence in some of his advice. Not to mention their dinner at Christmas. It had worked out well for both of them. That was another reason she'd decided that it was just time to face it. To let everything move on. "At least I'm not going to run away this time." That was the important thing now, she felt. She was done running.

"I'm glad about that." There was a softness in the way Pride said that, something she'd only heard a few times, mostly when he was talking about Laurel. She took that as a sign he really was genuinely glad. While she still didn't know him as well as LaSalle or Loretta did, she thought she knew him well enough by now to know that he didn't say anything he didn't mean to the people who mattered in his life.

"I never would have guessed." She decided now it was probably a good idea to bring up the doubts she'd had, and in some ways was still having. That if she left she would make things easier on everyone here. Maybe she just wasn't made for this life. She had thought she would be, and she loved her job, but maybe she wasn't. Maybe these mistakes were the proof of that. "I thought you were pushing me to leave, earlier."

"Why would I do that?" He asked, turning back to her almost immediately. Obviously she now knew he didn't want her to leave, and hadn't wanted her to even then, but sometimes minds liked to play tricks on their owners. That had probably been what happened earlier, and it would have definitely kept happening if she hadn't faced it.

"Because I'm a screw up." That was how she felt sometimes, especially when the _Moultrie_ was brought up. She knew that it mostly wasn't true, but sometimes she wondered if she could be better, if she should be better. That would have prevented all of this, wouldn't it.

"You are not a screw up." Pride came round her desk and crouched beside her, turning her chair so she was still facing him. It made her look down at him, and she had to reach up and wipe her eyes to stop a couple of tears from falling. Just hearing those words had made her feel a little better. "You made a couple mistakes, that's all they were." That wasn't all though, not really. There had been consequences.

"People died." She sighed and shook her head. Too many people now had died on her watch. Sure she couldn't really blame herself for all of them, she wasn't the killer, but she could maybe have prevented them, if she'd been better.

"I've been there too." It was a gentle comment, and for a moment she wanted to ask how, she wanted to ask why. He seemed like too good an agent to have ever experienced something like this. Maybe he'd been speaking from experience earlier, and that was how he'd known how to push her into stopping running.

She ended up sighing, trying to put into words the reasons why this was different. Why it wasn't just the words that had pushed her into opening up. "I've never really been at home anywhere. Not since Emily died." Merri knew there were studies about the connections twins had, even non-identical ones, and maybe that was part of why she struggled to settle anywhere. This place was full of broken people too, and they all worked. They fit.

"Right?" Pride prompted, clearly realising that it was sometimes hard to mention her sister without feeling down. Maybe putting the _Moultrie_ behind her would help her get more of a handle on that too. Being able to tell stories of what they got up to when they were younger without wanting to cry would make that a lot easier, and she would be a lot happier in the long run. She tried to come across carefree anyway, but that sometimes required work.

"This is the first place in a long time that has made me feel like I belong, where people are as flawed and broken as I am. Where people care about me too." She could even give examples of that, where everyone here had gone out of their way to make her feel included. "Loretta lets me rent her place, yes I know it's hers don't try denying it. LaSalle tries to convince me to get out more. You give me a boost whenever I need one. Even Patton and Sebastian make me feel like I completely fit in here." Their bickering reminded her of her cousins, which probably helped the family dynamic she felt here.

"So you don't want to leave?" He asked, standing up again. After a few seconds she followed suit, it was getting late, and maybe soon she should go home, maybe ring her parents and say that she'd come visit as soon as she got time off. Mostly so she could go and tell Emily that she was finally moving on. She wasn't going to leave for good though, not for quite some time.

"Not even slightly." She confirmed, hoping that was the answer he'd wanted to hear. She knew that being here was where she'd need to be to heal, around people who knew her as more than being just broken. Here she was valued, so here she would stay. "You're stuck with me now."

"Merri, I honestly wouldn't want it any other way." He pulled her into a hug, and she just stood there for a moment, feeling a little warmer and a little less stressed about the whole situation. Knowing that he wasn't angry or upset to be stuck with her was the last confidence booster she'd needed.

"Seriously?" That didn't mean she wasn't going to make a joke out of the whole situation. It was time she pull carefree Meredith Brody out of the box and start focusing on the good in the world. That would be how Emily would have wanted her to live.

"I guess, until I can trade you in." He just smiled again, and she couldn't stay sad, especially given the teasing. She had obviously, finally, found a home here. This was somewhere where she wasn't going to have to run away from the mistakes she'd made, where she would be able to try and work through them. She was glad that Pride didn't want her to leave either. It made her even more confident about her decision. It was time she stayed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, so. I couldn't sleep. I marathoned StephNCIS' Brody/Pride stories and ended up awake until 9:30 this morning. Then, I kept dreaming and something said I needed to write another chapter on this one. So. Much thanks, as always, to my best friend PinkAngel17 for being her usual awesome self, and to Tiva-McAbby-Densi-Neric-4ever for giving me the push to do it.**

**Shin xx**

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Dwayne Pride knew his team well enough by now to recognise when they were in trouble, and seeing the warning signs and he knew something was really wrong with one of them. Meredith Brody wasn't one to let her emotions deal with her work. He'd seen that already. So seeing her now, slamming files down told him something was wrong still. He'd seen her last night, and how emotional it had been. She'd ended up falling asleep on the pullout he normally slept on in the upstairs lounge room. Thankfully she'd had a change of clothes in a bag under her desk. He'd slept on one of the other couches, managing not to spend the whole night working.

"What's the bug up with you?" Obviously, he wasn't the only one who'd noticed there was something going on with Brody. Christopher didn't know all the details. He didn't have the clearance to read her file, or the file for what happened on the _Moultrie_ either, but he was still a federal agent, and it wasn't hard to tell there was something bugging Brody.

"What?" She snapped, then dropped another file to her desk with a heavy thump. Pride was just glad they weren't large files, as breaking her desk would have been a rather large downside to her bad mood.

"You're slamming those files down pretty hard." At that one Pride knew it was best just to drop his head down and continue working on his own things, especially given the daggers he saw briefly shot out of Brody's eyes. He was somewhat glad that he wasn't on the end.

"I'm just a little stressed." She tried to sound calm, but failed miserably. Given the events of the last few days he couldn't blame her entirely. If someone came now and tried to bring up every mistake he'd made as a young agent they'd be here for weeks. He wouldn't agree to co-operate as quickly as Brody had.

"You heard the outcome yet?" Christopher wasn't going to win any prizes if he carried on the way he was going right now. It wasn't probably a good thing that Brody wouldn't kill him on NCIS property, purely because then he'd have to arrest her and things would get messy for them both.

"Not yet. Pride will probably hear before me though." He just looked up at the sound of his name. He'd been following, but he wanted it to look as though he hadn't been when his name was mentioned. That was probably the safer thing for him. As for him knowing first, that was only one possibility. "If I'm to be taken off active duty he'll need to be notified."

Christopher clearly wasn't going to give him a chance to answer himself, which was probably a bad thing. He could have tried to reassure them both if he'd had the chance, as it was he wouldn't get that chance. "It's been 8 years since the _Moultrie_ Brody. If they were going to suspend you they'd have done it 8 years ago."

"They did, then the investigation swung my way and I ran as fast as I could as far as I could." Pride had read that in her file. Or should he say. He'd read that she'd been cleared and had then requested a transfer almost immediately. That transfer had taken her to the midwest. She'd run away from them a few months previously for a reason Pride didn't known, now she was here. Yesterday she had said she wasn't going to run again, and he was happy about that. The chipper little agent had burrowed her way into all their lives, and not one of them would be happy to let her go.

"Now you're here." Christopher commented, and Pride realised he'd missed some of the conversation. Whether or not that would have been more intelligent in context he was never going to know. Brody was still clearly shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

"I am." She shrugged, and it was clear that nobody had much of an answer to that. He was glad she was there, and he knew the rest of their team was glad she was too. That wouldn't mean much though if she was in as bad a mood as it appeared she was.

"I'm going to that place on the corner to get some lunch." Pride checked the clock and realised it was indeed time they all ate something, otherwise they'd all be in a terrible mood, and Brody's would dissolve from bad to 'terrible' and nobody would want that. "Anyone want anything?"

"Potato salad." He asked, holding out a note from his wallet and grinning. He loved that potato salad, and he didn't know what it was about it that made it so delicious. Once his money had been stored both men looked to Brody who shook her head. Pride just glared at her slightly, he didn't like much that she hadn't eaten anything yet today, but if she didn't want to eat he couldn't do anything.

"Get me some chips or something, I'm not really hungry." She ended up saying, so clearly his glaring had done something, even if it wasn't exactly what he'd wanted it to do. He might offer to share his salad with her.

"You gotta eat." While he was content not to comment, clearly Christopher didn't have the same view of sticking out of her business. Either that or he was trying to break her bad news by annoying her until she snapped.

"I'll eat later." She shook her head and he clearly gave up, so just shrugged and shot a look at Pride, while he understood the worry they had all had since the shooting a few days earlier, it really wasn't their place. Brody was a grown woman, and would make her own choices.

As soon as Christopher had left, Pride stood up and walked over to where she was still stood in the middle of their tiny bullpen. "What are you so stressed about, really?" It was a question he needed to push, because he was genuinely worried about her, and about what she was so worried about, or scared of.

"The investigation, mostly. But it's also brought up some bad feelings." She dropped the last file she held into her basket the turned back to him, and he saw the tears in her eyes again, the ones she refused to let anyone see her shed. She was too strong in her mind to let them go. "I really miss Emily right now."

"I've never lost a sibling, but I can understand how you feel." He had lost friends, some of his best friends, and he understood the emptiness of losing that bond, that relationship. It was surely only worse if it included being siblings too, closer than just that, twins.

"She was my best friend, and bringing all this up again. It just hurts, a lot." Seeing her beginning to lose control, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, she was clearly appreciative of this, and a second later she was holding him just as tightly. As soon as she'd taken control of herself again she stepped back then wiped her eyes. "Thanks Pride."

"At this point, I think you should just call me Dwayne, or King, your preference." He grinned as soon as he'd hugged someone as they were about to cry it was time to use given names. He hoped that she didn't think he was crossing a line too far.

"Then you should definitely call me Merri." She replied, and he smirked widely. He'd tended to stick to using her surname, even though he knew that there was a point where that wasn't the most professional thing. He just hadn't wanted to complicate anything when she was still settling in. Her choice did amuse.

"Not Meredith?" He had to ask, because that was her first name. He knew plenty of people who preferred nicknames, himself included. Most of the time at least. So that was a question he just had to know the answer to.

"Only my mother calls me Meredith." She gave a little watery laugh, then wiped her eyes again, before looking at him and managing to convey that she was utterly terrified about something, he was about to ask what it was when she started speaking again. "I'm just scared, what if they take my badge?"

All he could do at that was pull her back into his arms, because that was something he couldn't contemplate. Not now. They had just managed to get through something that he had been sure would end in her running again. He wasn't going to let the powers that be take her away instead. "I'm not going to let them, Merri."

"Thank you, for being here." She clung on to him, and all he could do in response really was squeeze her. He was always going to be here if she needed him. That was one of the things he'd be happy to do. "Last night and now."

"Any time you need me, just give me a call." He told her sincerely, and he truly meant it. One day it was going to be needed, and he would answer as quickly as he possibly could. It still haunted him that he hadn't been able to save her from this investigation, but he knew she'd be cleared.

"I might take you up on that." This time, she was the one to squeeze him, and he smiled at the far side of the office, glad that she'd done that, and agreed to call him if she ever had need of him. That was what he wanted her to feel comfortable doing.

"You should." He gave her one final squeeze then let go, knowing he needed to take a step back. She would be fine, in the end, but he hoped she remembered his offer. The last thing he actually wanted was for her to run, and he knew that she would if she felt threatened. Maybe the clarity of the night before she'd displayed had been tempered by dreams and the worry of what might happen today, but Pride knew in that moment that he wasn't going to let Merri go, not if he had any say in it.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this story. Now I couldn't help myself with this chapter, and this is the first one where it starts getting a little shippier. I decided to go all out on this fic! Thanks for all the really lovely reviews, and I've really enjoyed getting to know some of you! It's one of the reasons I love fanfic. (And no Icka, you don't count on this :P)  
**

**Shin xx**

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Meredith Brody had managed to make it home without killing anyone, given the reaction of LaSalle to almost everything she'd done today that was actually an accomplishment. Pride's pep talk at lunch time, and his assurance that he'd put up a fight if they tried to take her badge had definitely given her a boost and made it easier to get through the day, but she hadn't dealt with most of the rest of her feelings, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. She was watching some terrible procedural on TV, something she found stress reliving on a bad day when she needed to shout at something, when her cell started ringing. There was only one person it could be with that ringtone, and that was Pride, wait. King. "Hey, sorry to call you so late. I didn't wake you, did I?" She hadn't even looked at the clock for a while, so when she saw 23:15 she was rather surprised.

"No, I wasn't asleep." She yawned and stretched, while she hadn't been asleep she had been curled up almost into a ball. She'd called her mother and spoken about Emily a little. That had definitely made things seem a little easier to handle. Getting a call this late in the day worried her, were they being called to a crime scene or did someone want her to answer more questions. "What's up?"

"I just heard from the director." Pride left that hanging, and Merri almost couldn't take it. She had always hated feeling like she was being left out of the loop. She pressed the phone to her ear hard, and when he didn't continue speaking she just got annoyed.

"And...?" She prompted, hoping beyond hope that he'd tell her anything.

"Actually, I think this might be better to say in person." He said after a few seconds. It was obvious that she was not going to be able to do anything to change his mind either, that was kind of normal.

That was not what she'd wanted to hear. He wanted to tell her in person. It was either really good news or really terrible news. He'd probably be less cagey about good news, so it just sounded worse. "Really? That doesn't sound good."

"Is it alright if I come over?" Pride asked a little hesitantly, and Merri just looked around. The apartment wasn't that much of a mess right now, and what little clutter there was she could tidy. So it was an easy answer. It was just her and a big green rabbit.

"Sure. It's just me and Beany." It slipped out before she could pull it back. That was a bad thing. All of a sudden all she could picture was what would happen if LaSalle found out about Beany. He already teased her like a brother, and that was without embarrassing childhood stories. It would be worse if he learnt too much about her childhood.

"Beany?" Merri saw his eyebrows lift in her mind as he said that. It was easy to picture the look he'd be giving her if he wasn't on the phone. Clearly not that she had minded that he hadn't seen her and the green teddy cuddling already.

"Long story, forget I said anything." Beany was going to be easier to explain in person, no doubt. The giant green teddy rabbit she'd had since childhood was her usual companion on nights like this. She needed something comforting to cuddle with. "See you in twenty?"

"Yeah." He clicked the call off, leaving her sat on the sofa not at all sure what she was going to be facing in about 20 minutes. It was nerve-wracking and terrifying. Was she about to learn that her career was to be over. That was something she couldn't face.

Merri wasn't quite sure what she could do, or should do, now that she knew he was coming over, she was in her pyjamas and really didn't have the energy to get dressed again. At least the apartment was clean, for the most part. He wasn't going to be seeing the parts that weren't, at least. As she was about to pull out a bottle of wine her cell started ringing, and at the same time there was a knock at the door. She looked at her phone and, sure enough, it was Pride. "You know, you could have called or knocked, doing both was overkill." She commented

"I wasn't sure if you and Beany were upstairs." That would have been an acceptable excuse, but Merri wasn't feeling especially forgiving, ad her bad mood hadn't completely evaporated.

"Beany is a stuffed rabbit, King." She motioned behind her with a smile. Looking at the expression on his face it became plainly obvious that that wasn't been anything like he'd been expecting for who her companion tonight was. "He lives on my sofa."

"Oh, well." He stopped in the middle of what he was saying and looked over her shoulder at the rabbit clearly visible on her sofa. It was somewhat obvious that he hadn't at all expected her to introduce him to a rabbit. "That was not what I was expecting."

"Can you just get it over with and tell me what the director said?" She decided it would be best they did that than fix on the fact Merri might have had a guy called 'Beany' in the house and nobody had called to get her head checked out. That was not the most flattering of ideas.

He smiled widely, and she suddenly felt calm. He wouldn't be smiling if it was bad news. He had a weird sense of humour, that was certain, but he wasn't cruel or vindictive. He preferred to tell someone straight. "You're free and clear, you have no case to answer."

"What?" She was too shocked to answer anything more than that. No case to answer. The inquest was closed and she was safe. That was hard to believe wasn't it. She didn't really want to believe it.

The grin on his face grew, and she realised he wasn't trying to tease her or give her false hope. She was officially off the hook. "You were cleared, Merri. Again."

"Oh my god." She almost fell over as her legs felt weak with relief, she was glad that Pride was there to catch her and pull her against his chest. It felt comforting to be there, nestled against his chest. She just couldn't believe she was clear, they had confirmed again that she had nothing to answer and had done nothing wrong. "I'm clear."

"This new investigation just confirmed the findings of the last one." Pride squeezed her lightly in celebration, and she returned the gesture. She couldn't believe at all that she'd finally was free of this. There were things she still needed to face that had been brought up by this investigation, but she also knew that she'd officially done nothing wrong.

"Thank god." She whispered, glad that he was the only one here to see her as emotional as she felt right now. It didn't surprise her that he'd wanted to see her reaction to the news.

"Yeah, see." He pulled back just a little. Far enough that he could look at her seriously. She wondered what he was possibly going to say that had required that movement, but after he kissed her forehead gently he continued his thought. "You definitely don't need to run now."

"No, I don't. I can stay." She grinned and squeezed him again, then went to kiss his cheek, at the same moment he moved his head, and she ended up kissing him full on the lips. She paused for a second then carried on, completely forgetting both where she was and why this was a bad idea. It wasn't until she was pressed against a wall that she'd even noticed they'd been moving.

Soon though, the need for air was the more pressing concern, so she pulled back just a little. Far enough that she could breathe, and realise what she'd just done. "Well. That was..." He started, then trailed off. There was probably a good reason for that, but through the brain fog she wasn't seeing it.

"Yeah..." She answered in the same tone, then managed to come back to herself, seemingly at the same time he did, so he stepped back a little further. That had not been something she'd expected to do, and it almost certainly hadn't been premeditated. "Oh no, sorry." It all came flooding back, and she realised he'd just play a short game of tonsil tennis with her boss.

"Forget it." He waved his hand in front of his face, completely dismissing her awkwardness. That didn't quite excuse her in her mind. Letting herself off the hook was something she was not actually very good at, much as that would have surprised some of the people she worked with.

"I was caught up in the moment." She tried to explain again, but instead of letting her continue he put a finger gently on her lips and smiled shaking his head.

"It was both of us, so it's understandable." Well, at least he understood, and she hadn't made a complete fool of herself. Though he was right, he'd been there for the kissing too, so he wasn't blameless. Maybe that was why he was so fine with wiping it all off. "Don't worry about it, I'm sorry too."

Then, she realised they were still in the corridor, and he was still in his jacket. He'd driven halfway across the city to give her this news in person, the least she could do was be a hospitable host, and that most certainly did _not_ include kissing. "I've hardly even invited you in. Would you like a drink, I feel like celebrating now." There was nobody else in the country who could understand exactly how much she wanted to celebrate right now, and while he smiled slightly, she could tell he was going to decline.

"You have work in the morning, and as your boss I should not condone you drinking the night before." He was both declining and teasing her, and that was going to lead to her laying it on thick that he had a reason to stay.

"One drink King. That's all." She was not going to let him get away that easily just because of what they'd done a minute earlier. It would be nicer to have a quick drink with her friend than with anyone else there was her, which was mostly just herself. "Be naughty with me, you just managed to dodge the bullet you know." She added the last with a hint of sarcasm, and was glad this time when he took his jacket off and smiled.

"Fine, one drink." She grinned at that response, and held her hand out for his jacket before motioning for him to go through to the living room. She'd write off their little fumble as being nothing more than her excitement getting the best of her, and him. One drink wasn't going to cause any harm, and she really did want to celebrate now. Besides, they could deal with the rest tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, this chapter finishes off at a point where I could either call it a day on this story or continue it, and I'm going to leave that up to you guys. If you want me to continue it, I have some possible ideas, but if you don't, I don't have to. I have another story in the works that I just need to plot out I'm truly stunned by the reception this fic got, and I'm so glad you all liked it! There will be more Pride/Brody out of me either way, that's a guarantee.  
Shin xx**

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Given that it was 6am and his alarm had just gone off, Dwayne Pride was almost certain he wasn't actually ready to get up. He was also fairly certain that it was a Saturday. That meant that not counting for emergency calls, he didn't actually need to go anywhere. He was about to go back to sleep when there was a rather sleepy groan from somewhere to his left, and he ended up sitting up a little in the chair to see who it was, and where he was now. After a second he noticed Meredith Brody kneeling up from the floor, where she'd clearly rolled off the sofa at some point in the night. "What the hell did we drink last night?" She asked, and he had no idea. He had agreed to stay for one drink, then they'd put a movie on and then, he had no Earthly idea.

"I lost track after my second shot of... something." He didn't even remember what it was other than that it was green and tasted a little bit like bath caulk. He wasn't sure why he'd had the second shot, other than that she'd called him a chicken, and he'd had to prove her wrong.

"Alright, judging from the bottles here an entire bottle of white, half a bottle of amaretto and some green stuff I brought back from Majorca about three years ago." Merri listed off the bottles that they'd probably just abandoned at whatever point they gave up drinking that particular beverage. The green stuff was going to be something he avoided from now on, he was pretty sure that was the cause of the worst hangover he'd had since his bachelor party.

"What was the green stuff?" It seemed he had a right to ask given that he'd drank a fair amount of it. He was pretty sure it was alcohol, but he didn't read any of the languages on the label. He actually wasn't even sure what languages they were. Probably Spanish, and a couple more he couldn't even guess at.

"I have no idea, but possibly by that point we didn't care." _One drink_. Well. It really was his own fault, he should have seen this coming. He hadn't known Merri Brody to have _just_ one drink since she'd come to New Orleans, and she no doubt made it a game. He knew that and he'd still stayed. It was better than spending another Friday night alone.

He then looked carefully around the room. Beany the rabbit had clearly been unceremoniously thrown at some point and hit a wall, meanwhile the coffee table was leaning at an odd angle, and there was a stain on the sofa that looked like wine. "What did we do to your table?"

"I'm going to consider that while I shower and brush my teeth." She pulled her pyjamas theatrically and scowled. Not that he was surprised, he probably didn't smell that much better, but he wasn't going to test that. "I smell like a brewery." She grumbled, heading in the direction of the corridor to the bedrooms.

"I'll make coffee." He called after her, and had to smirk a little when he heard her response. He was almost certain that they were both going to require a large amount of coffee to survive today.

"Good choice." He set about making coffee, and he looked about in the cupboards to see if there was anything he could make for breakfast, though it was clear very quickly that there wasn't. He then sat and thought about the night before. It had been nice to sit and talk with Merri, to get to know her a little more outside of work. It turned out they shared a lot of similar interests. He wasn't glad that she'd been cleared, and would be able to work with them as normal from Monday morning. Maybe she'd be a little more relaxed then. He was staring at a cupboard and thinking when he heard the door to the lounge open and he quickly shut it as she spoke. "There, that's better."

"You have nothing in for breakfast." He said with a light smirk, Merri just ended up shrugging and smiling. Clearly, she didn't care that much about breakfast. "Did you figure out what we did to this?" He looked at the table again, just wondering what it was.

Merri laughed loudly, and Pride realised she knew exactly what they'd done. "I think you kicked it, when I was trying to tickle you with Beany." Oh, now he remembered. They'd been laughing, at least, and she'd been trying to tickle him with the rabbit.

"Oh god, I did, didn't I?" It lashed back to him almost immediately, and he started to feel bad about the fact he'd trashed her table. It was probably something he could fix though. Probably. "You were tickling me, though."

"I was, so I'll let you off." He was very glad to know that she let him off the hook for kicking her table when she'd largely been the reason he'd kicked the table anyway. He would probably have argued if the pounding in his head hadn't told him that it was a bad idea to argue with her today.

"Come help me fix it, do you have a toolkit?" It seemed like the easiest question in the world, then he remembered Merri hadn't lived here for long, and she probably hadn't yet had cause to buy a toolkit.

"Hold on a sec." He looked up from where he'd just knelt in time to see her back disappearing around the door. He only needed to listen for a minute to hear a car door slam, then feet running back up the stairs. "I have LaSalle's toolkit, he left it in my car last week and I haven't had the chance to return it yet."

"It'll do." He laughed and pulled the tool kit closer, then motioned to Merri to get down and help him. He couldn't hold the leg, the table and still fix it all on his own. Once Merri had taken hold of the leg he got to work and tried to think of something to talk about, when he realised knowing something about Merri's life would be nice. "So, tell me something about Emily."

For a second Merri paused, and he looked up at her. It was obvious she hadn't expected that question, but wasn't dismissing it out of hand. After a few seconds she handed him a screwdriver and started speaking. "She was always the good girl, I was the troublemaker, but we were inseparable." Why was he completely unsurprised that Merri had been the one seen as a troublemaker. She was still seen as a trouble maker in some circles. "Once, in middle school, we were put in separate classes, and we both threw a tantrum until the school switched one of us."

"You must have been a handful." He couldn't imagine Merri and a twin as children, they must have been terrors.

"You have no idea." She laughed loudly, causing him to chuckle too. He was somewhat a little glad that Laurel was an only child. When she'd stopped laughing she carried on, her voice just a touch sadder. "She was an artist, graphic design. She drew wonderfully, and loved to paint. I was always more into sports and writing."

"When did you know you wanted to do different things?" It seemed so completely opposite Merri that her sister had wanted to be an artist. So different, yet seemingly fitting. It worked.

"High school." Merri smiled, and Pride released that whatever memory his question had sparked was clearly a good one. That wasn't all that surprising, but it was still nice to know that she could be happy about her sister. "She wanted to be an artist, I wanted to be either in the police or the navy. So I ended up combining the two."

"It suits you." She was really very good at her job, and it was definitely something he could see her doing more of. She lived her job, and that was one of the best things. "You must miss her?"

"Every day." There was a hint of sadness in her eyes at that, and for a second he had to fight the urge to kiss her again. What had gotten into him. It must still be the drink. After a few seconds, and him setting the table down onto its leg in a way he could replace the screws Merri spoke again. "Your turn, what's going on with you and Linda?"

That was actually a surprisingly easy question to answer. While he'd fought hard for his marriage, in the end he and Linda had known it wasn't going to work, so they'd separated and decided that being apart was better than flogging a dead horse. "Nothing. My papers came months ago, you knew that. We're just tying up the loose ends." he suddenly thought about her news from a few weeks earlier. That she'd met a man she really liked, and that she hoped he'd be happy for her. "She met someone else in the meantime, a realtor."

"At least she's happy." Merri said slowly, and he just nodded, agreeing completely.

"Exactly. I don't begrudge her that." He really didn't. If Linda was happy then he was happy for her. That was the important thing. It had taken a long time, but he was finally getting over his marriage, and understanding that love really wasn't always enough. You had to have things in common, and he and Linda had grown apart in that respect.

"How is Laurel coping?" It surprised him how much care Merri was showing for his family. Maybe she understood, maybe she was just empathetic, but it was nice to have someone care.

"Well, she seems to think that after last year it was inevitable." They had been having problems, a lot of them, and he hated that. They hadn't been able to solve them though, and in the end it had been a relief. For both of them, and for their daughter.

"That's still sad though." Merri rubbed his arm with her now spare hand, and he just smiled a little. It was sad, but it was also for the best. He loved his wife, and his daughter, but he and his wife had nothing.

"Maybe a little, but I'm freer now. I don't regret it. She wasn't happy." He hated to admit that, but he hadn't been enough for Linda. He was a workholic with delusions of being able to save the day, and that just wasn't something she'd signed on for. "I think this is done."

Merri rocked the table then just laid on the floor giggling to herself. Maybe she was more hungover than she'd led him to believe. At least she seemed more cheerful than she had for a few days. "I think so, well done Agent Pride, we fixed our first table together."

"We did, I should get home, and to a bed." Alright, so 'home' was the office and 'bed' was the sofa bed within it, but it counted. One day he'd need to find a new apartment. "Sleep off the rest of this hangover."

"You're probably not OK to drive." Alright, she probably had a point there. They had drunk a lot, and it was still very early. He thought that he'd been pretty lucky not to hit his own fingers while fixing the table. "I have a guest bedroom you know. You can crash in there a while?" That was a nice thought, but he just didn't know what to think.

"You sure?" He was never sure about people who offered their spare bedrooms. More often than not they were just being polite. He could always call a cab and go back to the office and collapse onto his sofa bed.

"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't." That seemed like she was certain about it, so he decided not to try arguing. She wouldn't let him get away with it even if he did. he might be her boss at work, but here she was in charge. This was her home.

"Thanks." He stood up, then held his hand out to help her up. A second later she was stood pressed against his front again, and his mind flashed back to the previous evening. For a second he wondered if it would be worth trying that again, and the longer they went without either of them stepping away the harder it became for him to ignore the urge, eventually he just threw caution to the wind and leant forward.

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**So, I'll say again, want more or not?**


	5. Chapter 5

**So, the overwhelming majority... alright... all of you... said I should continue this. I do know of an end point for this though, so it's only got one or two more chapters after this, depending on the next chapter and how that goes. This chapter was the idea of my writing partner PinkAngel17, so she's like... half to blame too. - This is being posted because the wonderful StephNCIS actually slept last night, so it's her reward.  
Shin xx**

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She wasn't quite sure what it was that kept her still against his chest after he pulled her to her feet, but she just didn't want to move. She wasn't sure how long they'd been stood unmoving when he leant forward and down and kissed her, hard. Her hands found their way to his shoulders, holding him tighter to her, while one of his hands ended up tangled in her hair, the other in the small of her back. It was a wonderous experience, but as they broke for air Merri suddenly realised that this wasn't actually a good idea. They were both still tipsy from all the drink before, and it was likely to lead somewhere they couldn't come back from. "Sorry, I just-." She trailed off. Not sure quite how to phrase it.

"What?" He asked, clearly worried that something had upset her, or bothered her. This was actually going to be harder to explain than she'd thought. She didn't want him to be angry at her, but she also didn't want to upset him either. So she needed to say something.

"I'm really very flattered, I am." That wasn't the best start to this conversation. What was she even saying? It was as though her brain had completely lost all control of language, but then she knew that it was going to be best that she just be honest with him, and tell him her biggest rule of the last few years. "But It's just that I don't date, haven't dated, in a long time."

"I'm sorry?" He both asked and apologised, clearly trying not to pry if it was something she didn't want to talk about, but also wanting to know what was going on in her mind, oh if only he knew, even she didn't know entirely what was going on in her mind right now other than that she was confused how this was going to change things.

"No, you didn't know, and it's not something I talk about at work, for obvious reasons." The conversation with Borin didn't count. She wasn't a _colleague_ colleague, she was just someone they'd collaborated with a few times. Nothing she did any more lasted, and normally she didn't want them to last. They were passing fancies, not someone she liked, respected and saw almost every day. "I haven't really dated anyone in a long time. Occasional drinks and one night stands, but that's it."

"Oh." He sounded both understanding and a little confused himself, which meant she still needed to explain more.

She knew she had to continue, to explain that that wasn't what she wanted, not for them, but it was hard. There were things that shouldn't happen between people who worked together as closely as they did. Casual, meaningless sex was one of them. If she was ever going to sleep with a colleague, she'd need to be sure it was a lot more than that. She'd need to think. "The point is, that whatever this is. I don't want it to be that, and I'm not sure I'm ready for more." If there was anyone she would want to push through things with, he'd be top of the list. She really just needed to think, and she didn't want them to be awkward in the meantime. "I just don't want to make this awkward."

"It's not my place to push you, and I think you're probably still right about us being a little drunk from last night." She forgot she'd made that point while they were still laid on the floor. Maybe that was why absolutely everything seemed to be confusing and maddening. Everything in her mind was still soaked in alcohol.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, King." She was sorry, because it had been a long time since she'd had a good roll in the hay, but that wasn't the only reason. He was a good man, and he had a good heart. He understood her probably more than anyone had in a long time, and maybe her mind would tell her it wasn't such a bad idea. But she couldn't take the risk yet.

"Don't be, seriously Merri, I understand." He gave her a squeeze and kissed her forehead then finally stepped back, opening the distance between them again for the first time in a while. She missed the closeness, but she didn't make any move to close it again.

"Thanks, you're still welcome to use my guest room." She thought it might be best to make that clear. He'd clearly been drunker than her the night before, and it was quite obvious he was still a little tipsy now. Maybe not drunk, but there was a definite tipsiness to him that he'd be best to sleep off somewhere safe.

"That's good to know." He smirked a little, then laughed. She was glad that he at least felt he could still joke with her. He hadn't ruined everything, that was a good thing.

"I think there is a spare toothbrush in the cupboard under the sink." That would no doubt help King out in getting comfortable too. Especially given that she had so much to think about now, it would be easier to do if he was asleep.

"Great." He replied, and she smiled as he headed into the guest room, then she just hit her head against the wall to her bedroom a couple of times. That had been a definite problem, and possibly a mistake. It wouldn't matter immediately though, she'd need to think about something else to do, because now she wasn't going to be able to sleep. She needed to think, and doing that away from her apartment was probably a good idea. So she changed into her running gear, and on hearing Pride's snoring she headed back to the kitchen, scribbling a note asking him to wait for her to get back before leaving. She wasn't planning on taking her keys, and there was a chance he wouldn't even be away when she got back anyway.

It wasn't until she'd been running for more than half an hour that she started letting her brain thinking about the predicament she found herself in. "That was stupid Merri. You just kissed your boss twice in less than 12 hours." That was the first truth of the moment. She had. The first time she'd started it, accidentally or not that didn't matter. What mattered was that it happened. The second time he started it, and it took even longer for her to come to her senses about it. She was lucky she'd sobered up enough to realise that they were going in a questionable direction. "You would also have been happy to go to bed with him if that hadn't been a factor."

She couldn't help but take a break to shout at herself again. It wasn't entirely her fault, but what had happened a little more than a half hour earlier was almost entirely her cause. "Idiot." She snapped again, and tried to shake it off. It wasn't working, so she just picked up her speed, deciding that that might help more than more self-pity.

"You're going to have to decide what you want now. Because that was not just a casual thing for him, and you already admitted you don't want that." Or at least that was what she claimed. She didn't know what she wanted. There were a few things that she could see happening, not all of them being terrible things, or even things she didn't want. She was so confused about what she actually wanted out of this that it was hard for her to know which direction to go.

She pounded along the pavement, trying not to get in the way of the few other people she saw dotted around. She had some idea where she was going, but right now she just wanted to keep running until she came to a decision. She didn't know how long that would take. "So what are you going to do? Back away? He's your boss, that wouldn't end out well for either of you, would it?" That was a good point. It wouldn't end well. That made the assumption that it would end though. It was too early for either of those trains of thought. There was nothing happening that two rather intense make-out sessions. That was it.

"You could always try and get over it, you know? Or you could run again." She continued speaking aloud, finding it easier to try and convince herself that it was someone else telling her this, rather than it all being the insane ramblings of her own off-beat mind. She was actually glad that it was still early enough the streets were largely empty. Early for a Saturday, anyway. It was definitely not as easy to be doing this while not being sure what she wanted out of it, so shouting at herself as she thought seemed like an idea.

She took a breather and just looked out along the streets she'd come to think of as home and knew immediately that running was not going to be an option. Hadn't she just spent several days worrying that she'd have to run again? Why would she throw out that lucky escape if she was going to run at the first hurdle after that. "OK, so running isn't an option. That means getting over it. But do I mean over him or over my '_no dating_' rule?" She asked herself, and thinking about that was harder than she expected. Could it be both and neither at the same time? That didn't seem quite like it would be fair, on either of them. The truth was that she was interested in him. She wouldn't have thought she ever would be, but she was. So maybe it was time she loosened her policy, it wouldn't be the worst decision she'd ever made. At least he would understand her workaholic nature.

"Well that was predictable." She ended up muttering to herself as she finally got into a slightly more populated area. She wasn't even sure how long she'd been running now with these same thoughts running through her mind. Maybe King would have slept some and they could try to talk, or she could just lay it all out on the ground for him. This was not the sort of situation she had ever imagined herself getting stuck in, but it wasn't entirely unwelcome. It would all matter on what his thoughts were, far beyond hers. She was a commitaphobe, he had just gotten out of a marriage. They weren't necessarily the best fit, but somehow she still just wanted to try it, and see if they could make it.


	6. Chapter 6

**So, I ended up rounding out this fic, I think. So I'm going to mark it as complete from now. Don't worry, I'm going to keep writing Prody. I have two fic ideas/prompts, and no doubt that I'll have more ideas coming too, since there are more episodes coming. I hope you all enjoyed this. If you have any fic ideas you'd like me to write, send them on over. I love getting them. As is, thanks for reading, and I'll see you on the next story.  
Shin xx**

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He'd woken up and realised that something was off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it immediately, but he knew that there was definitely something just not quite right. It had been a long time since he'd woke up feeling this off. As he got up and wandered through Merri's place he realised what the problem was. She wasn't there. It took a while before he found her note, and all it did was ask him to wait until she got back. How long that would be he didn't know, and she hadn't left an idea whatsoever.

His mind was already questioning everything that he could have done that would change how he was feeling right now. He hadn't done enough, and had simultaneously done way too much too. Was this something about the kisses? She had started the first one, and he'd let her go for the second. '_She's run again_' his mind persisted, trying to tell him that she wasn't going to come back. He'd already learnt that he didn't want her to leave, and she'd said that she didn't want to leave either. '_Did I push her too far?_' That was basically the question, wasn't it. Had he done too much, and was she really ready for anything like that. Was he for that matter? Maybe her decision on all of this would help his decision.

There was nothing he could do, so instead of worrying about that, he decided to make coffee and take his mind off of everything. He just hoped that Merri would be back soon. He was lucky, he had work on his phone, and he was going to be able to answer almost everything by the time he was done reading. Eventually he heard the front door open, and he had to restrain himself from running to her and telling her he was afraid that she'd run again. He really had been scared she could have gone without him, and without any word of where she was going. Wake up to a transfer request to Maine or somewhere like that. Right now though, he was just glad she was still here. "Hey." He tried, desperately, to be relaxed and natural. It didn't work, and it was obvious that she noticed that. He had been truly worried about her, and he was glad that she was back.

"Hey." She shook her head, running her fingers through her hair. "Sorry, I just needed to run." She shrugged, then took a long swig of her water.

"At least you didn't run away." That was the most important thing to him right now, Merri hadn't tried to run away while he'd been asleep, and she'd come back to him too.

"I'm not doing that again." She was serious, and really clear about whatever she was thinking about she had now decided. "No running. Not now, not from here." The way that she said that told him that she was absolutely certain she was going to stay in New Orleans. He was glad about that, and it made him happier than he would have thought.

"Where did you go?" He couldn't help but ask. He was trying not to be to nosy, but he just couldn't help it. There were things he wanted to be able to show her, and things she would be happiest finding out for herself.

"Just around, there are some interesting places here." He knew that, this city had some wonderful things and wonderful places. He wished that he could have gone through it all again for the first time. He was glad she was learning it. "I thought I'd sweat out my hangover while I thought." It was a good idea, he'd slept it off, she'd sweat it off.

"What did you decide?" He asked wondering what on Earth she had been thinking about, and worried that maybe any decision was going to end whatever they were thinking of becoming, or whatever he and Merri had started moving together toward.

"How did you know I was making a decision?" She was clearly confused, looking at him seriously. Did she really believe that he didn't understand that.

It was obvious to him that she had been doing some serious thinking. She was really easy to read in that respect. At least for him. He knew her well enough to see the signs. Maybe she never let people get that close to her, but he had. "Because I know you."

"Look, King. The truth is I have feelings for you." Those were magic words, the only words he'd wanted to hear when this had all started. Clearly though, she was very worried about something she was thinking about. "I don't know exactly what we have going on, but I'm going to try and figure it out."

"What's to figure out?" He had to ask, there were a lot of problems when things were hard. Figuring things out was something good, but if she had feelings for him, and he for her, then what was gonna matter? That wasn't how this should work.

"I'm not what you want." Surely he was the one that was supposed to decide that. "I'm a commitaphobe and a workaholic and I never make time for anything outside of work." He was also a workaholic, it was what had caused the implosion of his first marriage. But being in a relationship with someone who was a workaholic too would maybe help prevent that problem, and Merri would understand. He was about to tell her that when she continued speaking. "I not even sure I know what I want out of life yet."

"Then let's figure it out." That was something he knew they could do, both of them. He was absolutely certain that they would be able to figure something out the two of them. If they could figure out the most difficult of cases, they could certainly figure out a way to be together and what she actually wanted right now, and in the future. Especially working as partners. "Together."

Merri shook her head briefly, and he just reached out and took hold of her hands. He couldn't entirely blame her. "King, are you sure I'm what you want, you're only just divorced." She almost whispered and shook his head. It didn't matter to him that he was only just divorced, he'd realised in the last couple of days that Merri was exactly what he wanted. Someone completely different to Linda.

"I am. I know it's questionable, and I know that I'm your boss, you're my junior agent and there will be things we need to answer, but it could be worth it, couldn't it?" That was all he could think. She clearly wasn't sure he knew what he wanted, and maybe she was slightly worried about the appearances, and the trouble it could cause. But he knew that it wasn't killer, they weren't technically military, so he hoped the two of them could move past that. "For us?"

"Yeah. For us." She nodded after a few seconds, clearly not really thinking about anything more than them. Maybe that's all she'd been thinking since she went out. It didn't really matter either way right now. Clearly they were on the same page, or at least having the same thoughts. So he kissed her lightly and rested his forehead against hers.

"Then let's just see where we go from here." He smiled and pulled her in to his arms tighter. It was obvious that she still wasn't sure they could figure anything out, but he was definitely going to make sure they tried. If that was all they could do then it would be completely worth it. However long he got to spend with her, he was willing to do whatever she wanted to make things easier. They'd made some sort of decision now, which meant they could start moving on.


End file.
